


Akko Buys Calipers

by HailedAcorn



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-12
Updated: 2018-09-12
Packaged: 2019-07-11 15:07:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15974855
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HailedAcorn/pseuds/HailedAcorn
Summary: Akko goes out in the rain to buy some calipers for Diana. But... Akko has no idea what calipers are, and it's a bit too late to ask. There's really no shipping or meaning story in this, just a fun little Slice of Life fic!(This was literally just going to be a parody of the "Rundown" joke from The Office, but there wasn't really enough material in those two scenes for an entire fanfic. )(I wrote this will listening to soft piano Jazz, with rain drumming on the window. So for full effect try doing that)





	Akko Buys Calipers

Freezing rain drummed on the dormroom window, harmonizing with Diana’s low humming. It was a rather pleasant sound, making Akko sink deeper into the couch, releasing a hearty yawn.  She had spent most of her Saturday morning helping Diana with a project she was working on, the details of which Diana had tried to explain to her, but Akko simply couldn’t understand.

                In exchange for tutoring after class, Akko had agreed to do favors for Diana every now and then. Favors of every sort really, but most of them ended up like this; Akko watching Diana as she worked on some mysterious project or errand. She _was_ obligated to, after all. But it’s not as if she didn’t enjoy spending time with Diana. Despite spending the first half of the year as rivals, after stopping the missile together the two had become very close friends (but, still rivals in Akko’s eyes).

                Just as the rain and warmth and fuzzy feelings were beginning to put Akko to sleep, Diana called her name.

                “Hmm?” Akko asked drowsily. She heaved herself up onto her feet and walked over to the desk Diana was working at.

                “Akko, I need you to run and get me a pair of calipers. Can you do that? I absolutely cannot be distracted,” said Diana. The board Diana had previously been drawing on now had a glowing geometric pattern spread across it.

                “Calipers?”, asked Akko. She had never heard the word before. The board sparked. “Yes, calipers. I’m sorry, I really can’t talk, I need to concentrate,” said Diana. “You can handle that, can’t you?”

                “Of course! I’ll go right now! I’ll get you that Calipers, Diana!” Akko said. She turned on her heels and rushed out, slamming the door behind her.

“ _Calipers. What’s a Calipers?”_ Akko wondered to herself as she walked down the hall coming from Diana’s room. “ _And, what time is it? I’m hungry. I don’t know what time it is. But it must be lunchtime. I’ll get some food first, then I’ll go find the Calipers.”_

 

* * *

 

 

Akko looked down at her empty plate thoughtfully. Then she blew on it, spreading crumbs from four pieces of toasts across the table.

                “Hey, Akko! Having a late breakfast or early lunch?”

Akko twisted around in her seat to see Amanda and Jasminka walking up to her, plates full of snack food.

                “Hm. Maybe both?” said Akko as the pair sat down at her table, “Uh, hey, do you guys know what a Calipers is?”

                “Calipers? Use it in a sentence.” Amanda replied

“Uh, let me see. ‘Hey, can you get me some Calipers?’” Akko said in a British Accent.

“Okay, try a different sentence.”

“’Those Calipers better be good!’”

Amanda shrugged. “Hm, I think you’re talking about something different than what I thought. Whatever it is, it sounds important.”

“Look!” said Akko, “Diana asked me to get her a pair of calipers!”

“Then why don’t you just ask her- “

“No, I can’t! it was like, an hour ago!”

“What have you been doing this whole time?”

“Try it in another sentence!” said Jasminka.

Akko stood up. “You know what, I’d better hurry. I’m sure I’ll figure it out somehow.” She turned and marched out of the cafeteria.

 

* * *

 

 

Akko curled her legs arounds her broom, in preparation to travel the leyline to Blytonbury. She had never flown through the leyline by herself before, but by God she would do it now.

 _“Okay!”_ Akko thought to herself, “ _Slow and steady…”_

“Forwards!”

Akko shrieked as the broom lurched forwards, shooting towards the gate like a missile. The portal opened around her like a crack of thunder, and she was hurled into the glowing abyss.

Akko took her off her hat and shook the water off like a puppy. It was so peaceful in the leyline… especially compared to the weather outside, which had turned into a full-blown thunderstorm. Root-like tendrils snaked through the surface the brilliant blue-green tunnel, seemingly stretching to infinity. Akko normally suffered from tinnitus, but the leyline’s silence was only deafening in the metaphorical sense. Sometimes, she swore she could hear music. Some heavenly opera or some instrument unknown to man being masterfully strummed in the distance. Akko had a faint memory of Sucy telling her about Elves that used music to build the universe, but couldn’t remember when exactly it happened, or why she would say something like that to her in the first place. Maybe it was a dream?

Freezing rain blew into her eyes and blurred her vision. She was hovering hundreds of feet above Blytonbury.

“ _When did I exit the leyline…?”_

Well, whatever. Back to reality, Akko! She took a deep breath.

“Down!”

Akko shrieked once again as the broom lurched fifty feet downwards, and then stopped abruptly.

“ _Okay, again!”_

“Down!”

(Shriek!)

“Down!”

(Shriek!)

“Down!”

(Oof!)

Akko’s knees hit the pavement. That didn’t feel good at all, but there was no time to waste. She propped herself up on her broom and began to hobble towards the Magic Item Café. Though it was officially called the Last Wednesday Society, everyone called it the Magic Café, and the what’s-his-name who ran the place didn’t seem to mind.

                The sole proprietor was sitting in his usual place behind the counter, with a portable space heater pointed towards him. The warm temperature and atmosphere of the shop made the winter cold feel distant.

 The Shopkeeper looked up from his puzzle book. “Morning, Akko. What can I do for you? It must be important for you to come here in this weather.”

Akko stuck her hands in front of the space heater. “I need… a pair of Calipers.”

“Calipers?” asked the Shopkeeper, “you can get calipers at any hardware store. You must need magic calipers, huh?”

“I guess so. Do you have any?”

“Let me check the back,” he replied. He stood up and disappeared down the dark hallway, presumably to a garage somewhere in the back. Akko turned the cheap space heater towards her and pressed her whole face against it. It smelled like burning rubber.

                “Okay Miss, take your pick!”

The shopkeeper opened three boxes. In the first there was what looked to be an old wooden ruler with something akin to an adjustable wrench attached to it. The second box had something like a compass- the kind for drawing- with a small blue flame inside the ring-shaped hinge. The last one looked almost like scissors, but the blades were blunt, bent, and had intricate vines etched into them. Putting her hand near them made it tingle.

 

* * *

 

 

“ _I don’t normally take IOUs, but I know you’ll be back sooner or later,” the shopkeeper said._ Akko replayed the deal in her head, wondering if she could’ve possibly gotten a better price on the three magic calipers. Even after haggling down the tools to their lowest price, she still couldn’t afford them, so the shopkeeper agreed to let her pay half up front and bring the other half later. Even so, Akko would be fifty pounds in the hole.

                “ _I should make Diana reimburse me for these things,”_ Akko thought to herself. “ _I guess that wouldn’t be fair. After all, I was the idiot who didn’t know what calipers were.”_  She pulled open the door to Diana’s room.

                Diana almost jumped out of her seat. “Akko! Do you have the calipers?” The board popped and fizzled.

 “I sure do!” said Akko. She laid out the three calipers on the desk. Diana’s eyes almost popped out of her head.

“Christ, Akko! You got _enchanted_ calipers? How much did you pay for these? Never mind, tell me about it later,” she said hurriedly. She took a standing vice out from under the desk and tightened the ruler-looking caliper into place. She then tightened her wand into the caliper, while muttering a spell.

“Okay, watch this for me, will you Akko?” She hurried out of the room.

Akko sat and watched the pattern pulse while running her fingers through her damp hair. It looked like a series of triangles overlaid atop a series of hexagons. Waves of blue light rippled throughout the entire glowing structure. She began to find herself sleepy again.

                “I am back!” Said Diana as she opened the door to her room.

“Diana,” said Akko, “what is this thing? I know I’ve asked a million times but like…”

“Okay, I know I’ve said this a million times as well, but I’ll try and put this in simpler terms. What you’re looking at is Metatron’s Cube. Since the universe at its simplest level is just energy vibrating in various geometric patterns, geometry is a basic for larger structures like magic as well. A person’s magical ability is not based on how much magic is inside of them, well, it is for some things like potion making and broom riding, but in most cases it’s about how much magic their body can siphon from the leylines, as in Yggdrasil, into reality. Even Yggdrasil is a living thing, siphoning magic from…”

                Akko flopped down on the couch. If there’s one Diana _isn’t_ good at, it’s putting things in simple terms. “ _Maybe it’s just her voice. It’s so easy to tune her out when she goes into lecture mode like this_ ,” Akko thought to herself. And perhaps it was. So much so that she didn’t even notice when Diana started telling her to get off the couch, you’re soaking wet, you’re going to ruin it my goodness let me get you a towel!

                And with that, another day at Luna Nova Magical Academy was came to a close. Another day spent doing nothing of any _real_ importance, but somehow still managing to feel special. There have been lots of days just like this one, and there will probably be many more. And that’s okay. These are just the kinds of days that Akko likes.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction! Am I good? Tell me I did good! I happily await your headpats!


End file.
